There are a variety of needles available for different medical and surgical uses. For example, intravenous catheters are utilized in various applications for supplying or withdrawing fluids to or from the body. The intravenous catheter includes an external cannula for indwelling in a blood vessel of a patient and an internal needle that is inserted into the external cannula to facilitate smooth piercing of the blood vessel of the patient. In operation, the internal needle is inserted into the external cannula such that the tip portion of the internal needle protrudes from a tip portion of the external cannula. The internal needle is manipulated to pierce a blood vessel and to position the external cannula within the blood vessel. Then, while the external cannula indwells in the blood vessel, the internal needle is withdrawn from the external cannula. With the external cannula positioned within a blood vessel, a medical device can be connected to the rear end portion of the external cannula using, for example, a luer connector, to facilitate the supply and withdrawal of fluid, e.g., blood, medication, etc., to or from the body.
After the internal needle is withdrawn from the external cannula, the exposed needle tip creates a danger of accidental needle stick which can leave a clinician vulnerable to the transmission of various blood-borne pathogens, such as HIV and hepatitis. While needle tip protectors have been developed to protect the clinician from needle stick injuries, the cost, ease of use, and effectiveness of these needle tip protectors leaves room for improvement.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a needle tip guard that is easily activated by a clinician, adequately protects the clinician from accidental needle stick injury, and is economical to produce.